Seized plastic bags pile up in corporation offices

Thiruvananthapuram: The city corporation which has deployed around 10 squads across the city to seize banned plastic bags is now facing the challenge of disposal. Over 1,000 kilos of plastic have been seized from various shops and are piled up in health circle offices. The civic body is now dealing with the tedious task of manually tearing apart the plastic covers before transporting it to Tamil Nadu.
Two plastic shredders installed at Palayam had become dysfuntional for over three years.The officials have now directed the cleaning staff to shred plastic covers manually.
"This is being done to ensure that the plastic bags we transport to Tamil Nadu are not brought back to the state for resale. Resale of the used bags can be avoided once they are shredded," said a corporation official.
The health wing is now trying to make the shredder unit operational. No step has been taken during the last three years to repair the unit, which stopped working hardly a week after it was inaugurated. The civic body will hold a meeting with shopkeepers who have threatened to go on strike against plastic ban.
The shopkeepers who have been opposing the move right from the onset have announced that they will close down shops until corporation withdraws ban on plastic below 50 microns.
The officials said that the squads will continue to seize plastic bags below 50 microns.
The hologram stickers to be sticked on plastic bags above 50 microns are expected to be ready within two days. The corporation has placed orders for 5 lakh stickers.
The order placed in 2012 had to be cancelled as C-DIT expressed reservations regarding the sticky quality of holograms and it was agreed to supply new ones.